Kemi purges the Tory wets! Badenoch blocks former MPs who back Net Zero and staying in ECHR from standing for Conservatives at the next election

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 10:45, 10 July 2026 | Updated: 10:56, 10 July 2026 Kemi Badenoch is blocking ex-Conservative MPs who still support Net Zero targets or want to retain European human rights law from standing for the party again. The Tory leader has rejected applications to be a party candidate at the next general election from those who don't agree with her policy shift - even if they are former MPs. Since being elected as leader in November 2024, Mrs Badenoch has ditched Net Zero targets and called for Britain to quit the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). She has now revealed how all those who want to represent the party at the next general election will have to show they are able to 'deliver radical change'. With Andy Burnham soon set to enter Downing Street as the next Labour prime minister to replace Keir Starmer, Mrs Badenoch is making preparations for the country to go to the polls.  She said the Tories would 'step up' their selection process over the summer after they received more than 2,000 applications to be Conservative candidates. Mrs Badenoch added her party needed to 'show we have changed for the better' following its disastrous general election defeat in 2024, as she vowed to build 'a government in waiting'. She outlined how she had set 'rigorous tests' for aspiring candidates to pass, as she strives to make a clear break from the party's policies under former leaders. Kemi Badenoch is blocking ex-Conservative MPs who still support Net Zero targets or want to retain European human rights law from standing for the party again 'Soon some of those who applied, including former MPs, will start to receive a decision and they will be unhappy at not passing the test that will let them stand for the party at the next election,' Mrs Badenoch wrote in The Telegraph. 'Candidate selection is not just 'admin', nor is it simply a favour to former colleagues.  'It is one of the first serious tests of whether the Conservative Party has actually learnt from defeat. We are building a team that can govern the country and deliver radical change.' The Tory leader added: 'Some people should never have been candidates before. Some do not have the judgment. Some do not have the discipline. Some do not want the Conservative Party to change. 'Some say one thing in public and another in private. Some failed basic psychometric tests, including one candidate who turned up drunk to their assessment.' As she outlined how Tory candidates would have to be signed up to her policy shift, Mrs Badenoch said she was 'building a team with a plan that can run the country and deliver radical change' rather than overseeing 'a retirement home for failed politicians'. 'If someone still believes in Net Zero targets that make energy more expensive and are destroying industry, they are not coming back,' she continued. 'If someone thinks that the ECHR can be wished away rather than being dealt with properly, they are not serious. 'If they want to jump on every passing fad that makes us look more like Liberal Democrats than Conservatives, there is no place for them in this party. We have to show we have changed for the better.' Mrs Badenoch said it was 'unlikely' that Mr Burnham would call a snap general election when he becomes PM on 20 July - 'because turkeys do not vote for Christmas' - but vowed the Tories would 'be ready' if he does.